


Felidae

by myotishia



Series: Call of the void [5]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Jack Angst, Multi, tosh gets good news and bad news
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: An estate agent is found dead in a sealed safe room, covered in bites and scratches. It's up to Torchwood to find out what killed him and stop it hurting anyone else.New reader? Start righthere
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Owen Harper/Toshiko Sato
Series: Call of the void [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1580095
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Collateral

“Oh no, he can get drunk.” Said Ianto, gesturing to Jack who looked up in surprise.

“When?”

“My second week here.”

The dawning realisation made the captain reel slightly. “No.”

The rest of the team looked on expectantly.

“I was working late and apparently he hadn’t realised. I walk in and he’s sitting in his office, one bottle of hypervodka in hand, three empty bottles on the floor and one unopened on the desk. Of course I’m trying to stay out of sight but he spots me and stands. Then promptly falls over.” 

Chuckles ran around the room as Jack blushed lightly, prompting Ianto to continue.

“He clambers to his feet, empties what was left in the bottle and asked what I’m doing there. I avoided that one and got ready to leave. But no, that wasn’t happening straight away.” He switched into his best impression of a very drunk Jack. “You know Ianto. It’s not good to be here late… This place will eat your life up if you let it. And they won’t appreciate it. They’ll waltz in… All smiles with someone new on their arm. Off on some adventure while you’re here waiting… I never asked for this you know. All I wanted was a drink and maybe a date but nooo they drag you off and change you. Make you a better person. Bastard… You, you have time to escape. Run away. Have some fun. Live life… You’re cute, you know that?” He switched back to his usual Welsh accent. “And then he passed out.”

“Is that why I woke up on the floor?” The captain asked, stifling his own laughter at the act. 

“I rolled you onto your side so you didn’t choke and left you there, yes.”

“That’s something I’m glad I forgot.”

“And something we never will.” Owen grinned, appreciating any story where Jack loses his composure.

Jack rolled his eyes before something came to mind. “Be right back.” He jumped up and rushed off. 

“What was that about?”

“You’ll see.” Ianto smiled. He knew exactly what that was about but didn’t want to ruin the surprise. 

Gwen studied him and placed down her fork. “It must be good, whatever it is… There was a, signed for, letter that you brought in this morning so I’m guessing it was something to do with that?”

“I don’t know a thing detective.”

“So it is. There was a stamp on the envelope that looked official.” She tried to rack her brain to remember what exactly the stamp had looked like but she’d only seen it at a distance and it was unclear. 

“Shouldn’t I have some kind of legal representation if I’m being questioned?” 

Owen looked between them. “She hasn’t arrested you yet, so no.”

“Yet?”

“You are acting a bit shifty.”

“If I go down I’m taking you all down with me.” 

When Jack returned he had a white envelope with a red crest stamped on the back in his hand. He sat and slid it across the table to Tosh. She gave him a questioning look to which he simply nodded in return. Opening the envelope up revealed a set of papers with the UNIT insignia in the corner. Swiftly reading through them Toshikos eyes shot wide. 

“Is… Is this real?” She squeaked. 

Jack beamed. “Yep. Your record is officially clean. It’ll still be another year until you can get a passport but you can contact your family again. They can even come and visit you.”

She couldn’t believe her eyes. Even at the party she’d never considered the idea any more than just a dream. 

“How?” 

“Apparently after what happened at the party UNIT were very enthusiastic about finding a way to apologise to the queen and she told them they could start by righting a few wrongs. Especially when she started talking about human rights violations and having every UNIT base within the British empire investigated.”

“Thank you.” Her voice cracked as tears of joy ran down her cheeks. 

Owen had wanted to stay a lot longer to celebrate with Tosh but duty called at the worst of times. He and Gwen had been sent to pick up a body from a sealed safe room. The police had been given the code to get in when the built in dead mans switch inside the safe room sent them an alert. The victim lay in the centre of the room, covered in what looked like scratches and bites. 

“So, he was like this when you opened the door?” Gwen asked the officer that had been posted outside the room. 

“Yes. There wasn’t an animal inside when we opened it up. We checked when we saw him. There’s no blood out here but nothing could have got in.”

“Right. Thanks.” She entered the grey walled room and studied the corpse. 

Owen considered it. “It looks like he tried to give a really pissed off cat a bath or something.”

“Except there’s no cat around.”

“Cats can get into anywhere.”

“We’re standing in a safe. There’s no way.”

“Who builds a room like this anyway? If nuclear war happens I wouldn’t want to slowly starve to death in what is basically a tomb.”

“I think it was just a hobby. This house used to be a bank so when he bought it, he just turned the safe into a room.”

“With a dead mans switch that calls the cops?”

“Only when it’s being used.”

“Let’s get him back and I can find out what turned this guy into a scratching post. Looks like the security cameras are hooked up to that computer so Tosh’ll have something to play with.”

“You’re not usually so eager to get back.”

“I don’t like the idea of being trapped in here if I’m honest. Anyway, I heard Tosh talking about inviting her parents to visit, which is great, but I don’t think she’s considered the fact that she hasn’t come out to them.”

“Ah. Right… What are you two going to tell them?”

“Not a bloody clue. It’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with.”

“Does your mum even know you’re in a relationship?”

“No and I don’t think she’d care if I told her. I tried to talk to her the other week and Elise overheard. I thought she was going to rip the phone out of my hand.” 

“She’s very protective over you.”

“She’s protective over all of us.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

“Yea… It is… It’s going to get her hurt one of these days but it is nice.” 

“You’re going soft.”

“Like hell I am. Grab the computer then you can help me carry the body.” 

Jack was in a great mood, even if he’d been called away from the festivities. Mapp estates had not been where he wanted to be, but, as one of their staff was found dead covered in scratches and bites in a sealed off room, he thought it might be an idea to find out if he’d been poking his nose where he shouldn’t. Elise had been pacing as they waited for someone to talk to them. 

“I know you want to get back but relax.” He smiled, watching her fidget. 

She stopped and sighed. “Sorry. If the door wasn’t unlocked I’d say no one was in.”

As if on cue a flustered looking man in a suit rushed down. “I’m sorry. We’re a bit short staffed at the moment. Can I help you?”

“I was hoping to talk to Mr West.” Jack said, knowing he wouldn’t be in as he was currently being transported back to the hub in a body bag. 

“I’m sorry. He hasn’t arrived yet. I can make you an appointment or …”

“Really? That’s a shame.”

“I assume he was planning to show you some of our upcoming properties.” The man looked a mix of uncomfortable and annoyed. 

“You don’t look impressed.”

“No, no. I… I’m sorry. It’s just he’s been bragging about them but, you see, they’re currently occupied. Our owner just retired and passed the landlords he managed on to Benji. They’ve been pushing to end some long term tenancies for years but our boss always convinced them to just let the tenants stay. They’re elderly and I know they don’t pay anything close to market worth but they’re not going to be in those places forever. Benji said he’s going to raise all the rents but it’ll price those people out of their homes. I know I shouldn’t be pushing any investors away but… I can’t have that on my conscience.”

There was a motive for someone to want Mr West dead. That or he’d found something in one of the homes. “Would I be able to get a list of all of those properties? Aren’t any of them empty?”

The man gestured towards an office. “Of course. I’ll get it from his office. And I think a few of them are.” He pushed open the door and hit the light switch. Something wafted out on the air. Not a bad smell exactly but one you wouldn’t expect in an estate agents office. “All of them are in this draw here. You’re welcome to have a look, just don’t tell him I let you. Would you like a drink?”

“Just water, thanks.” 

Elise waved off the offer and the man walked off. She slipped into the office and closed the door behind her. “What are you thinking?”

“Either he’s annoyed the wrong person or found something he shouldn’t have. I’m guessing at one of these houses. Can you smell that?” He asked as he flicked through the files.

She sniffed the air. “Umm… What am I meant to be smelling?”

“Not sure… It smells like fur. Not wet fur just… Like a house with a pet.”

“Oh yea… Maybe he has a cat or a dog. That fur gets on everything.”

He pulled one of the manilla folders from the draw and passed it over. “That has most of the addresses.” He turned to look at the window as he felt a draft. “If he’s not in, why’s the window open?” 

“Huh?”

On closer inspection there seemed to be the ghost of a boot print on the windowsill. He followed the direction it lead with his eyes, spotting something tucked just under the desk. He recognised it and wished he didn’t. “Elise, get out!” He ordered. 

“Wha-”

“There’s a bomb.” He said as he pushed her out of the door. 

“What about the agen-” She tried to turn, looking for the estate agent, but was cut off by a sonic wave that hit her in the chest. Jack took the brunt of it and was thrown across the room but Elise was slammed into one of the columns that stood in the foyer. The windows of the building shattered outwards and the air filled with the sound of car alarms. Jack groaned and rolled onto his side, broken plaster crunching underneath him on the dusty carpet. It had been an old fashioned sonic destructive device, inefficient but deadly if you were sat right next to it. He wiped the blood from his eyes, the gash in his forehead having already healed. 

“Elise?” He called, looking around the destroyed room for her. Under a thin layer of plaster dust, beside the cracked column and surrounded by what had once been chairs, Elise lay. He rushed over to her side to see she was gasping. She could easily just have been winded but he’d seen her winded before. This was different, very different. 

“Elise? Can you hear me?” He asked. 

She rolled her head towards him and opened her eyes. “Ribs.” She gasped. 

“Ok, ok, keep still. I know it hurts but keep trying to breathe, yea?” He just had to hope she didn’t have a punctured lung. Usually this would be a matter of calling an ambulance but that wasn’t possible. He ran out to the SUV and grabbed the smaller of the medical kits from the boot before returning. When he returned she was grabbing at something under her shirt. 

He pulled her hand away. “What’s wrong?”

“Bra… Hurts.” She gestured. The tight elastic was holding her ribs in place but it was also making it a lot more painful to breathe. 

He took the fabric scissors from the kit, strong enough to cut through leather or the thick fabric of seat belts, and slipped them under her shirt to cut away the elastic. He was sure she’d forgive him. He could feel that her chest didn't move correctly as she breathed, falling when it should rise and rising when it should fall. 

“Better?” He asked, wanting to keep her calm. He’d learned over time that if you looked calm then whoever you were trying to help would stay more relaxed. 

She nodded softly. 

“No moving. I’m going to give you some painkillers then get you back to the hub.”

“What… About… File… And… Agent.” She gasped, it being extremely difficult to fill her lungs without her chest feeling like it was on fire. There was no colour left in her face and she was shivering slightly.

Sirens in the distance announced the upcoming arrival of the police. Jack wondered how long he’d been unconscious if they were already so close, that or maybe they’d been nearby and heard the blast. 

“Police are on their way. They can deal with this, but they can’t deal with you.” He said as he pressed the injector from the kit to her side. “Listen, no matter how much of this stuff I give you, moving is going to hurt and I really wish I could keep you laying down because I don’t know what else is broken.” 

She winced but started being able to take slightly deeper breaths. “Be… Ok… Can… feel all… my limbs… Just need… Help… to move.” 

Owen had Mr Wests body stored by the time Jack got back. He was waiting in the garage to see how bad the damage was. It didn’t look good as Elise was laid out flat in the back and Jack had been driving in a way that wasn’t borderline criminal. Tosh had been tracking them just in case. Eli’ very carefully moved to get out, the painkillers taking the edge off. 

“Take it slow. I don’t want you puncturing a lung.” Owen said, trying his best to support her. 

“If... isn’t… already.”

“You’d know, trust me. Is it just your ribs?” 

“She hit the back of her head too.” Jack chimed in as it was clearly tough for her to talk. “No sign of a concussion but from what I could tell it’s very possible there’s quite a few broken ribs.”

The slow process of getting to the med bay showed just how much pain Elise was in. If they carried her it could press any of the broken bones into her lungs so there weren’t many options. It was a relief just to get her laid down and an oxygen mask over her face. Jack left the room so she could be examined in peace. With her shirt cut open it became very clear just how bad the damage was. 

“Christ!" He could barely believe what he was looking at. "Eli, being as you can’t be under hospital care I’m going to have to try something drastic.”

“Do what… You have to.” She smiled, fists clenched, tears running down the sides of her face. 

He nodded and ran up to the door. “Tosh! Scrub up. I need a hand down here.” 

Tosh shot up. If he needed her to scrub up it meant surgery and that was very bad. “What is it?”

“Flail chest. She needs to be in hospital but as we can’t do that I’m going to reattach the ribs where they need to be.”

It was three hours before Tosh emerged and everyone looked to her for some kind of sign that their friend would be ok. 

“She’ll be sore and need a lot of rest but she’s alive… We had to basically pin the bones back together. It’s a miracle her organs were relatively unscathed… Without the technology we have here she…” 

Jack pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry. If I’d seen it sooner she would have been far enough away.”

“No. It’s not your fault. It’s just… She could have died… She must have been in so much pain.”

“But she’s alive. She’ll recover. That’s what matters.” He was saying it to himself as well as the woman in his arms. He had to whenever any of his team got hurt. Yes, Ianto, Owen and Tosh could recover from anything now, but Gwen and Elise were both still mortal. The whole time they were operating he’d been rethinking the event, what he could have done differently, how he could have changed things. He knew he shouldn’t dwell on it, but that didn’t stop him. 

“Will we be able to see her?” Asked Ianto cautiously.

Tosh nodded. “Soon. Owens just making sure she’s comfortable and lucid. She’s going to be bruised from head to toe and on a lot of painkillers so she won’t be able to talk much… We think her arm saved her life.”

“How?”

“The fibres that connect it to her brain have grown around her spine to interface correctly with it. During the impact they held her spine and stopped anything breaking. They also held her heart and lungs in place and away from any shards of bone.”

“Sounds about right. Who could have planted that kind of bomb anyway?” 

Jack slumped into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. Those sonic devices were first used in the thirty fifth century and were replaced with more efficient versions around a hundred and sixty years later. West looked like he was attacked by a small animal, right?”

“Yea. He looked like he’d been mauled by a cat.”

“But there was a boot print on the windowsill of the office. That’s how I even noticed the bomb.”

“So there’s more than one person who wanted him dead? How many people could have access to that kind of technology?”

“None. At least there should be none. The only people he’s angered are elderly residents he was planning to gouge.”

“And their families. Do we have a list of those people?” 

He pulled a folded file from his coat, both still covered in plaster dust, and handed it over. “It’s a long list, plus there are a few empty places and there are landlords, not just tenants.”

“If it is someone who’s angry at this whole situation then one of the landlords might be next.”

“I can search the empty buildings tonight. Maybe rule them out.”

“You were just in an explosion. You should take tonight to recover.”

“I’m fine. I’ve walked off worse.”

“Jack-”

“Can you get me a list of just the empty properties? See if any of the residents or landlords are on our records.” It was just a polite way of telling her to let the issue go. He could feel guilty or angry, but he’d rather feel nothing and throw himself into work. 

Owen had quickly gotten changed and cleaned up so Elise didn’t have to wake up to that kind of mess. As soon as he’d lifted her shirt he’d known how much danger she’d been in. He didn’t even know how she could have stayed conscious with the level of pain that kind of injury had to have been causing. While he was waiting for her to wake up he’d double checked the scans from before and after. Satisfied that he’d taken out all of the small shards of bone and the metal mesh he’d used to hold the pieces of bone that were left in place were positioned correctly. The ribs would heal around the mesh and it wouldn’t need to be removed so she wouldn’t have to go through another surgery. Her body was used to the metal as the same mesh had been wrapped around the bones in her arm to stabilise the attachment to the cybernetic portion of the limb. The bio computer fibres would most likely try and attach themselves to it as well. They seemed to be creating a kind of monitoring system for anything implanted. They’d even connected to the contraceptive implant in her other arm. In a way he was glad she couldn’t go to the hospital. The methods they had to use would lengthen the recovery time and leave her in a lot more pain than she would be with his methods. Plus Torchwood gear meant no scarring or stitches to worry about. Her breathing had normalised for now and all signs indicated she was coming round. He slipped his hand under hers, not wanting to disturb the IV line in the back of her hand. Her fingers twitched slightly.

“Afternoon.” He said softly, sounding a lot more tired than he’d expected.

She opened her tired eyes and surveyed the room blearily, trying to remember what had led her to be there. She remembered the office and Jack pushing her out, the bomb going off and the cracking sound as the shock wave hit her. It had lifted her off her feet and slammed her into the pillar followed by a chair that finished the job of cracking her rib cage. The ringing in her ears eventually being replaced by alarms and Jacks voice. The searing pain in her chest dulling slightly and watching the world rush by in the back of the SUV. Then nothing. She reached up to touch her chest but her hand was gently pulled back to her side. 

“Don’t. You might be dosed up but poking is still going to hurt… You scared me.”

“Sorry.” She breathed, barely audible behind the oxygen mask. 

“You’re going to be black and blue for a while. I had to wire your ribs back together.”

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to say sorry for that. You’re going to have to stay at home for at least a week and you’ll be on desk duty for a few more. That is as long as you’re breathing well.”

“No Christmas party?” 

“Probably not.”

“Awww…" She looked away. "I ruined Tosh’s day, didn’t I?”

“No. She doesn’t think that and neither should you. All you need to think about is recovering. Are you in pain?”

“No. I think I’m ok.”

That night Jack did as he said he would and began checking out the empty properties he found on the list. Ianto had insisted on joining him. If he was going to avoid thinking about how he was feeling by breaking into empty houses then he wasn’t doing it alone. So far they’d been presented with nothing. The empty properties were just that, empty. Ianto checked the time. Two fifty three in the morning. 

“That was the last one.” He said as he tidied the papers away. “So, what now?” 

“I guess you want to go home.”

“I want to know what you plan to do next.”

“Well, I can’t talk to any of the residents until the morning and the computer from Wests house didn’t show anything other than him having a panic attack before locking himself in his safe room.”

“We still haven’t worked out how what killed him got in or out.”

“Maybe we should take another look at the place.”

“In the dark?”

“The place has lights.”

“Jack, how long are you going to avoid talking about what happened today?” 

He was stunned by how blunt his partner was being. Maybe it was the late hour or having spent the past few hours technically breaking in to empty buildings. Either way it was a shock. He rested his hands on the steering wheel and stared out into the dark. 

“I’d talk about it if I knew what to say.”

“You were caught in that blast too.”

“Yea, but I walked away… I should have shielded her. She turned back at the last moment to ask about the estate agent and … She’s going to be barely able to move for the next few weeks because I made the wrong decision.”

“You didn’t know that was going to happen. You tried to get her out of there and that’s all anyone could ask. She’ll be ok.”

“Yes, because she’s lucky. One wrong move and she would have died. What would I even have been able to tell any of you.”

“The truth. We all know the risks of this job, even if it hurts. You made the right call.”

“Then why can’t I get the image of her terrified and gasping for breath on the floor out of my head?” He snapped before stopping himself.

Ianto took Jacks hand and squeezed it gently. “Because that was a horrific thing to go through. You’re not immune to trauma.”

“I’ve seen so much worse done to people I’ve cared about but…”

“That doesn’t change anything. Trauma is trauma… Let’s just… Go and get some rest. Bottling all this up isn’t healthy for anyone.”

“Can we go to your place?” His voice was soft. It was an actual request, not just his semi polite way of stating where they were going. “I don’t want to go back to the hub right now.”

“Of course we can.”

Iantos home was slightly chilly. Like when you return from a holiday and haven’t turned the heating on yet. The fridge buzzed through the silence before Ianto turned up the thermostat and it was replaced by the sound of the central heating kicking back to life. Jack took off his boots and left them by the door before he even took off his coat. Ianto would usually have to tell him off before he did that so it had to be one of those nights. The general order of the home was far removed from the chaos of the hub and maybe that’s why the captain found it so comforting. Everything had its place, even him. He dragged himself to the bedroom and threw his clothes into the empty laundry basket before crawling under the duvet and burying his face in the pillows. They smelled warm and comforting, the scent of fabric softener having faded. The softener wasn’t bad but he didn’t like sleeping on anything that smelled too strongly of anything. It was just a personal preference as he hated waking up with his mouth tasting of soap. A good sense of smell could be handy but it also had its downfalls. Speaking of which he could still smell the plaster dust on his coat. He glared over at it, as if it had betrayed him somehow. Ianto walked in and placed a glass of water on the bedside table. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, seeing the look on Jacks face. Following his line of sight the problem became clear. “I’ll hang it in the bathroom so it can air out. I’ll get it clean properly tomorrow.”

“What would I do without you?”

He smiled softly and gathered up the greatcoat, noting the spots of blood on the collar and arm. After hanging it up in the bathroom, with the window cracked to let the air circulate, he returned and got undressed before crawling under the duvet. The tiredness hit him. Jack pulled him into his arms, holding him like the world was about to end. He usually did that after a nightmare. Maybe it would be one of those nights. 

“So, when did this happen before?” Asked Ianto. He'd known Jack long enough to recognise the way he was acting.

“I… Well… Back in the agency… My partner was caught in a blast like that. She got buried under rubble and when we dug her out… Her rib cage had been practically caved in and she just looked at me as if there was something I could do. The bomb hadn’t even been meant for us, we just got caught in the crossfire between two gangs… I’ll never forget the sound of her trying to talk.”

“Did she…?”

“She survived but she never returned to the agency. The trauma was too much. That’s what I was told anyway. I never saw her again.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know I shouldn’t compare them but they both had that same look. It’s like I was back, crawling through the broken ruins calling her name… And this time I couldn’t even call in an emergency pickup. I had to move her. I had to get her back to Owen. If the police saw her they wouldn’t have let me but-” His voice cracked. Ianto brushed the tears from his face.

“It’s over. You did the right thing. Ok?”

“I… I did.” He didn’t sound sure but it was better than his mind spiralling down into the dark. He rested his head on Iantos chest, just listening to his heartbeat. The steady rhythm helped calm his nerves. Maybe he could get that image out of his head. 

Walking into the hub the next morning Tosh found it to be unusually quiet. She’d been so ready to show everyone what she’d found the night before, while she couldn’t sleep. Owen dumped his jacket on the back of his chair. 

“I’ve got a body to process. Can you answer my phone if Eli’ calls?” He asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to. 

“Of course. Are you still going to check on her at lunch time?”

“Yep. I put a reminder on her phone to take her painkillers and have something to eat but she might switch it off and fall back to sleep.” 

“I’ll go if you don’t get the chance.” 

“Thanks.” He waved as he disappeared down to process Mr West. 

Gwen wandered in a few minutes later, rubbing her eyes, glad she’d forgotten to put on any kind of makeup. 

“Morning.” Tosh smiled. “Late night?”

“Anwen decided she was being fed at four this morning whether I wanted to or not. How’s Elise?”

“On a lot of painkillers but otherwise she’s in a good mood. It turns out the painkillers she’s on have the side effect of interesting dreams. She woke up around five and insisted the puppy, that we don’t own, fell on the floor and we had to save him.”

“Awww. What did you tell her?”

“Owen said the puppy was on the sofa so it was ok. She thought that was fine and fell right back to sleep. She was eating jam sandwiches when we left because toast is apparently too noisy.” 

She chuckled and tossed her bag under her desk. “Where are Jack and Ianto?”

“No idea. They haven’t logged on this morning so maybe they stayed at Iantos last night.”

“Right. Jack was saying he was going to check out the empty houses last night so they could have just decided to crash.”

“Oh, speaking of last night, I found something interesting in the footage from Mr Wests security cameras.”

“Yea?” She scooted over to look at Toshikos screen. 

She’d opened the video file and had scrolled through to the point just before Mr West reached his safe room. “Can you see it?”

“Umm… What am I meant to be seeing?”

“Look at the floor. I noticed he kept looking down as he ran. This here-” She zoomed in and cleaned up the image slightly. “Looks like a liquid of some kind, but it’s chasing him.” She switched between the frames to show definite movement. 

“It looks like mercury.”

“And I looked into the building records for the safe room. When it was a bank safe it was water tight but when the new locking system was installed the rubberised seal was removed and never replaced. If that liquid was what killed him it would have had no problem getting into the safe room.” 


	2. Curiosity

“Felis catus domesticus.” Owen announced. 

Jack raised an eyebrow. “A house cat?”

“Specifically a black and white British longhair. That’s what the fur was from anyway. The saliva isn’t from a cat. It’s mostly water with a mild antiseptic agent mixed in.”

“So, a cat didn’t kill him?”

“Oh, it did. I just don’t think it was a normal cat. The claws left a metallic residue, but what kind of metal it is I’m not sure. We don’t have anything like it on record. Its cellular structure is loose so it seems to be able to change its state between a solid and a liquid at will.”

“That lines up with what Tosh found. I don’t know how we’re going to separate this cat from any other.” He leaned heavily on the barrier, half studying Mr West and half feeling like he should have actually slept instead of laying awake all night, thinking he’d end up punching Ianto accidentally in the throws of a nightmare. “Once you’re done here I want to take another look at the house. I smelled fur at the office but there was still that boot print. That and I don’t think a cat can plant a bomb.”

“Think we’ll be back before lunch?”

“No idea, why?”

“I’ve got to check on Elise.”

“I don’t mind taking a break for you to check on her. How’s she holding up?”

“Pretty well under the circumstances. I think the painkillers help because she can’t remember what happened five minutes ago, let alone yesterday.”

“That’s not permanent is it?”

“Naa. Once she’s healed up a bit I can move her onto something that’ll let her think clearly. For now she’s better off a bit out of it.” 

“Should she be on her own?” 

“She gets exhausted walking to the bathroom. She isn’t going anywhere.”

“I was thinking about the stairs.”

“I checked that this morning. Just looking down them makes her dizzy so she won’t go near. Anyway, she’ll most likely be sleeping.” He pushed the body into its draw and looked back at Jack. “I’m going to regret this, but are you alright?”

“Me?” He smiled unconvincingly. “I’m fine. Nothing a coffee and sorting this mess out won’t fix.”

“Then you get coffee. I’ll need a few minutes before I can go anywhere.”

Jack picked up a folder full of letters that had been left in Mr Wests living room. They were all communications from the new landlords he would have been managing. One specifically caught his eye.

“Owen.” He called to get the doctors attention. 

Owen had been more interested in the damage to the safe door. It looked as if someone had tried to pry it open, but the police had the access code. “Yea?”

“Your neighbour.”

“What about her?”

“She lives with just her cats, right?”

“Yea. Well, she lives with two. The third keeps trying to move in with us.”

“But it’s just the cats.”

“Yes. What are you going on about?” He turned from the gouges in the metal of the door. 

“West was talking to her landlord about raising the rent and says whenever he’s been to check on the place it always looks like there’s someone else living in the spare room.”

“I’ve never seen anyone else. Her son sometimes visits but other than that it’s just her. She’ll talk your ear off about her cats but she’s never mentioned anyone else. That and there was definitely no one when Elise helped her evacuate. Why?”

“She was the only one West tried to speak with directly.”

“It’s not going to be her. She’s a bit batty but otherwise she’s harmless.”

“But what if something is living there. Something that doesn’t want to be found.”

“We can check it out.”

“We need to head that way anyway so it’s worth a shot.”

“Anyway, take a look at this. These marks here. I swear they weren’t here yesterday.”

“There was no sign of anyone getting in.”

“You said there was a boot print on the windowsill to the office, right? Why go through the window if the door was unlocked? And if they were trying to kill our guy with a bomb then why not take the time to cover the prints? They have to be two different things.”

He placed down the folder and activated his wrist comp, scrolling through articles that Owen couldn’t read. 

“What are you looking for?”

“If we separate the cat creature from the being in the boots and look at them in isolation… Here.” He showed a hologram image of a dog that morphed into a puddle of liquid and back. “They’re guard dogs, or cats. Any animal that’ll stay inconspicuous where they’re taken, but they’re made to prevent harm to their owner by any means necessary. I’ve never seen one in person before. They were developed around the same time as the sonic bomb but they were unpopular exactly because they looked identical to the animal they were mimicking.”

“Uncanny valley.”

“Exactly. Almost all of them were returned and destroyed or fell into the hands of collectors who kept them dormant.”

“So how did it get here? I mean if it was alone we could just say it fell through the rift but with this second whatever they are it’s not likely.”

“These guards don’t function at all without an owner registered to them so we’re dealing with the owner too.” 

“Any way to shut it down?”

“Without catching it in a dormant state or destabilising its physical form, no.”

A thud from the top of the stairs sent both running for the shadows. If it was the police, no problem, but if it wasn’t then it was best to stay hidden until they knew what they were dealing with. A tall, felinoid figure marched down the stairs, a plasma torch held in his right hand. He grumbled to himself as he marched, his heavy boots thudding as he got to the bottom. 

“This stupid guard unit better be in here.” He huffed, placing the torch down. 

Jack nodded to Owen and they stepped out of their hiding spot.

“Freeze, hands on your head.” Ordered Jack, ready to fire on this cat man if he tried to run. Instead, the ginger furred felinoid turned and put his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot. I’m just trying to get an antique guard unit back. Please.”

Gwen almost felt bad for the sobbing mess of a cat man sat in the interrogation room as she watched him through the viewing window. “Do you really think he planted the bomb? I mean look at him. He’s terrified.”

“He thinks we’re the time agency, of course he’s scared.” Jack replied, not convinced. 

She walked round and sat herself across from the prisoner. “We’re not going to hurt you. Come on, what’s your name?”

“Derrin.” He snuffled. “I know I’m not meant to be here. I was just meant to find this old guard unit and bring it back.”

“And the bomb was to catch it?”

“Bomb? The old one in that office? That wasn’t me. I don’t even know how those things work. I thought the unit might go there so I went to check it out. When I saw that thing I backed out and went to look at the house of the guy whos name badge I swiped. Please, I didn’t hurt anyone. I just want to go home.” 

“Can you prove you didn’t leave that device? I mean you definitely didn’t want to be caught.” 

“The guys who brought me in took the vortex manipulator I was given. It was set to only go to two places because I don’t know how that works either. Look, I’m not smart. This guy said he’d pay me to take this shutdown code and bring back the guard unit. I didn’t know it still had an owner.”

“And who is this owner?”

“I don’t know their name. I know they’re ex military and they’ve still got weapons. I thought maybe they were linked to the house owner so I hoped the unit would be in that safe. That’s the only reason I was there. You have to believe me. I’ve never hurt anyone. I couldn’t.”

“Derrin, do you know where this owner lives?”

“I could show you. I saw an elderly human there but I’m sure she was hiding them.”

The door clicked open and Derrin froze in terror. 

“Relax. I believe you.” Sighed Jack. “Listen kid. We’re going to send you back and you’re going to leave dealing with this thing to us.”

The young cat nodded, tears flooding down his furry face. “Thank you. Thank you. I promise I’ll never do anything like this again. I promise.”

He unbound the felines wrists and handed him the vortex manipulator. “Here. Tell whoever hired you that it was destroyed before you got here.”

“I will. Thank you.” He sniffled again before hitting the button to activate the manipulator. A portal opened up and he practically threw himself through before it closed. 

Gwen was a little confused. “Don’t we need him to show us the address?”

“No. I’ve got it.”

“He really was terrified.”

“Yea. Barely out of his teens and sent off on a suicide mission.”

She frowned deeply at the very idea. “What made you believe him?”

“When you were questioning him he kept moving his right hand. His left didn’t even shake. He couldn’t move it, and you need two hands to activate a sonic bomb. It couldn’t have been him. That and I was looking through the vortex manipulator he had and it’s barely functional. No one who knew what they were doing would leave it like that. I got the units shutdown code before I sent him off too.”

“If you have everything then let’s go.”

“You’re not going to believe where it is.”

Lucille, or Lucy to her friends, had just given the cats their lunch. Candy and Cindy were both happily chomping away but Tibbles was still out. He’d most likely snuck off next door to nap but he’d be back. He always was. She’d had Candy and Cindy since they were kittens but Tibbles had been a rescue. He’d just turned up in the garden one day. She didn’t completely remember bringing him in or how he’d settled with the other two, but she was sure he was her cuddly, chunky, rescued baby. A knock at the front door pulled her from her thoughts and she hobbled over, unhooking the chain and turning the key in the lock. A familiar face greeted her. 

“I hope I’m not bothering you Lucy.” Smiled Tosh. A lovely young woman that always let her witter on even if she was repeating herself. Lucy thought she could use some time off, as she always seemed to wear business attire but each to their own.

“Hello love. What brings you to my door in the middle of the day?”

“Well, you see Elise was in an accident yesterday and the painkillers she’s on make her a bit loopy. I was wondering if you could just maybe keep her company for an hour or so.”

Elise was the tomboyish girl that Tosh said was her ‘housemate’, as if Lucy didn’t know that two women could be in a relationship. “Of course. The poor dear.” She grabbed her keys and stepped out, closing but not locking the door behind her. “What happened?”

“She was by the estate agents when that gas explosion happened.” 

“Oh my. I saw about that on the news. Not moving are you?”

“No, no, it was just a work thing.”

“My last neighbours were just awful. Always screaming and shouting, throwing things out of the windows at each other. None of us felt safe. You were a breath of fresh air.”

“I’m glad. I worried about us being too noisy.”

“Don’t worry about that. I can take my hearing aids out at night now without worrying I’m going to be robbed so you can be as noisy as you like.” The elderly woman smiled softly as she followed Tosh into the house. Elise was laid down on the sofa, awake but clearly not completely with it. Lucy immediately went into grandma mode and gently tucked her in with the blanket on the back of the sofa. 

“Look at you, in the wars. Would you like a warm cup of tea?”

Elise focused her eyes on the woman then smiled. “Yes please.”

“I’ll make sure it’s not too hot. Don’t want you scalding your tongue to add to everything else, eh?”

“Can… Can I have sugar?”

“Of course you can pumpkin. Oh listen to me, I’m always like that with the grandkids and now I’m starting with you.” 

“I’ll be back in a bit.” Said Tosh. She brushed back Elises hair and kissed her on the forehead. “You just rest, ok? I’ll be back soon.”

Lucy switched on the kettle and took a mug from the cupboard. “Alright my lovely. Don’t work too hard.” 

“I’ll try.” She chuckled before scooting out. 

Owen was waiting just beyond the door. “Ready?”

“Ready. She didn’t lock the door but we’re going to have to be quiet.”

“I just spotted Tibbles walking round to the garden. Think you can take him down?”

“If we’re quick.”

Gwen crept through Lucys house, the small building filled with cushions and knickknacks. The walls were covered with family photographs. There were even a few black and white images of Lucy as a young woman, standing with her previous pet cats. 

“Where was this person supposed to have been hiding?” She whispered. 

Jack pointed upstairs. “Second bedroom. The master bedroom’s at the back of the house.”

She nodded, one hand edging towards the shield pendant hanging around her neck. The stairs were old and creaked no matter where you put your feet so the quiet approach wasn’t working. She climbed two by two, hoping the one they were looking for would be counting the steps and miscount. They reached the door and readied themselves for a firefight. Jack kicked open the door to find a sonic blaster pointed at his face, dodging just in time to not lose it. Gwen tapped the pendant and fired two shots into the figure in the room. The hologram fizzed out of existence and skittering could be heard from the loft. 

“Should have expected that.” Jack sighed before turning and firing into the ceiling where he heard the movement. Something yelped. 

Gwen pushed open the hatch to the loft, standing on the foot board of the single bed to reach. She pulled herself up into the darkness. As her eyes adjusted to the low light, she could see hundreds of small spy holes leading into the rooms below, and the silhouette of a creature crawling to the other end of the loft. It reached up to the beams holding up the roof and rose like a spider, hissing over its shoulder at her. Six eyes almost glowed in the darkness. Jack reached around Gwen and hit the shield pendant just in time for a barrage of sonic blasts to dissipate uselessly against its invisible surface.

“Don’t move. This whole place could be covered in traps.” The captain breathed.

Lucy sat next to the sofa, considering popping back to check on the cats, as a loud bang made her jump. 

“Bloody fireworks. It’s not even that dark out.” She grumbled.

A whimper came from the sofa. The sound having jolted Elise awake and jostled her ribs in the process. Going back home forgotten, Lucy gently took Elises hand, noting the plaster covering where the line had been removed the night before. The poor woman looked black and blue, so it was no wonder she was in pain after even that small shock. 

“It’s ok. Just just squeeze my hand. I tell you, I worry about you three. The amount of times I’ve seen you come home limping or with a black eye. That’s if I see you get home at all. It’s just like when my Edwin was still around. He was a police officer and every time he walked out of the front door there was always a chance he wouldn’t be back. But he was always into his job and I couldn’t convince him otherwise. You lot are the same, I’m sure.” She reminisced as Elise settled down into a light sleep again. 

The guard unit known as Tibbles stopped as he saw Tosh approach. Like usual he greeted her with a trill and a purr.

“I’m sorry Tib's. Guard unit three six five, shut down code four eight two two zero five six.” She said, crouching down to see the cat freeze in place then morph into a metallic cube. A digitised voice rose from the box. 

“ _ Factory shutdown complete. Please register new user…. Please register new user… Please re-” _

She paused, stopping Owen before he picked it up. “Register new user Toshiko Sato.” 

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Just trust me.”

_ “New user: Toshiko Sato, recognised. Welcome to your new guard unit five point two. Please take a moment to customise your unit. This unit is capable of both defensive and companionship settings.” _

“Set to companionship.”

“Tosh this is a bad idea.”

“Tell me later, just let me try this.”

_ “Companionship mode will disable all defensive capabilities until full factory shutdown and reset. Is this acceptable?” _

“Yes.”

_ “Companionship mode enabled. Please choose incognito mode form. I have six forms on file to choose from or I can take form from your description.” _

“Revert to the feline form your last user gave you.”

_ “Default feline form chosen. Please name your companionship unit.” _

“Tibbles.”

_ “Designation: Tibbles. Accepted. Thank you for setting up your new unit. Would you like to receive news and offers from Gene sciences corp?” _

“No.”

_ “Understood. You can change the incognito form and name of your unit at any time. This unit is programmed to follow all commands from its registered user. New users can be added or removed by the first, registered, user. To create alarms, reminders and many other functions simply say: Tibbles open planner. Gene sciences thanks you again for your purchase. Tibbles will now enter incognito mode.”  _

The cube shifted its form back to the black and white tom cat it had been before and mewwed softly. 

“It’ll break Lucys heart to lose him so I just put him into safe mode.” Tosh smiled, picking the cat up. 

Owen rolled his eyes. “We can get her a new cat.”

“It won’t be Tibbles though will it. I looked through the user manual on the way here and these are designed to be safe around children. It’ll be fine for a few years and then he’ll just return to me.”

“Jack’s never going to go for this.”

“I’ll convince him. Come on, just look at this little face.”

“That little face that killed a man.”

“If someone stabs someone else you don’t blame the knife.”

“Tosh -”

“Come on. He’s completely indistinguishable from any normal cat now. No one else will know and he’s registered to me. Whatever happens with him is on me.”

“If Jack goes off then I wasn’t here. I didn’t see shit. Ok?”

“Thanks.” She kissed him on the cheek and carried Tibbles off. 

Gwen glared into the darkness as the creature laughed. 

“Move and you’re dead. I’ve been here for years, don’t you think I prepared for someone following me up here?” The creature tilted its head.

Jack cracked a glow stick behind his back and tossed it forwards. “We’re not taking your word for it.”

The area was illuminated in a dull orange and it wasn’t as well trapped as they’d been told. The spider like being, one leg hanging down limply and leaking yellowish blood onto the insulation, shot a few more rounds towards the agents while scrambling further up into the beams. 

“So, what was your plan? Hide in this loft for the rest of your life?” Asked Gwen, now pretty certain this thing had no way out.

“I was fine. All that old bitch needed to do was keep paying for this place and it would have worked out. But nooo.”

“Why didn’t you leave?”

“Because he can’t.” Jack interjected. “He’s too sensitive to daylight to escape in the day and he can’t see that well in the dark. I’ve met his race before and they only get that eye shine when their vision starts to break down.”

“That’s why his shots are all over the place.”

The creature, frustrated and in pain, charged with a sonic bomb in hand. He planned to stick it to the barrier and make a break for it. As he raised his spindly arms into the air Jack shot him between the eyes. The bomb dropped onto the soft insulation, not yet activated.

Owen placed the last box of weaponry they’d collected into the boot of the SUV. Jack was side eyeing Tosh, waiting for her to explain why she was happily holding what could be considered a murder weapon. Tosh was pretending she hadn’t noticed. 

“Are you planning to explain this?” He asked, gesturing to the animal.

“This is Tibbles, fully reset and programmed to be perfectly safe for children and the elderly.” 

“And why isn’t it in a box?”

“It’s a cat. It’s harmless.”

“Tosh, come on. If you want to keep it it’ll have to stay at the hub. I don’t think Seren’s going to be impressed.”

She sighed and looked down. “Lucy’s eighty seven and her health isn’t the best. If she loses Tibbles like this it could…”

“It’s not safe.” 

“It’s perfectly safe. I made sure. Please, I’ll take full responsibility and I’m right next door.”

“If that thing hurts anyone-”

“I know. You know I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t one hundred percent certain he was completely harmless.”

“Just, take it inside before I change my mind.”

She grinned brightly and bounced off to her own front door. She pushed the door open.

“Look who I found on the doorstep.”

Lucy looked up and chuckled warmly. “Getting into mischief I’m sure. I hope the girls haven’t eaten his food too.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. How’s Eli’ been?”

“She had a bit of a scare when the fireworks went off but otherwise she’s been just fine.”

“Firewor- oh. Oh right. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Don’t be silly, it’s no trouble at all. If you’re back I’d better head home.”

“Thank you so much for this.”

“Any time. Let’s get you some dinner, hmm Tibbles?” Lucy stood carefully and hobbled out, the cat following dutifully behind her as he’d been told to. The elderly woman wouldn't ever know what had been living right above her for so long or that her cat wasn't actually a cat, but it was all for the best. Sometimes ignorance really was bliss.

Tosh bent down to kiss Elise on the forehead. 

"Are you home for the day?" The sleepy eyed, dosed up woman asked.

"I'm sure Jack wouldn't mind if I was."

"Why am I downstairs?"

"I'll explain everything over dinner, ok?"


End file.
